International Criminal Court convicts Central African militia leader

Judges at the International Criminal Court on Wednesday convicted a former Seleka militia leader from the Central African Republic of crimes ‌against humanity including torture. Prosecutors accused Mahamat Said Abdel Kani of running a prison ‌where suspected supporters of then-President Francois Bozize were beaten and tortured. He denied all charges.

Presiding judge Miatta Maria Samba said that Said and others oversaw beatings and torture of prisoners as part ⁠of a ​plan to target perceived ⁠Bozize supporters in the capital Bangui. He was found guilty on four counts of crimes against humanity including ⁠persecution and torture. The judges dismissed several war crimes charges, finding that at the time ​the alleged crimes were committed the armed conflict had already ended.

Said, dressed in ⁠jeans and a blue sweatshirt, gave no reaction as the verdict was read out. A separate hearing ⁠will ​determine his sentence.

The predominantly Muslim rebels known as Seleka, or "alliance" in the Sango language, seized power in 2013 as part of the Central African Republic's ⁠long-running civil war, ousting Bozize. Their rule gave rise to opposing "anti-Balaka" Christian-dominated militias. The ICC has been ⁠investigating the ⁠violence in the Central African Republic since 2014. It has convicted two "anti-Balaka" leaders, but Said is the first Seleka member to be ‌convicted.